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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-11-16 Daily Xml
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Condolence

Bradshaw, Mr K.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:19): Sir, on indulgence, I would like to make a statement regarding the recent passing of Keith Bradshaw. I pay tribute to the life and work of Keith Bradshaw following his death last week at the age of 58 after a long and valiant struggle with multiple myeloma.

For the last 10 years, he was Chief Executive of the South Australian Cricket Association and he had great influence on the sport internationally. Inspirational, a man of vision, compassion and courage, committed to the success of the game at both the elite and grassroots levels: these are just some of the deserving tributes paid to Keith over the past week.

Keith Bradshaw was born in 1963. He was an avid sports fan. He played football in the winter and cricket in the summer as he was growing up. He played 25 games for the Tasmanian state cricket team between 1984 and 1988. In January 1986, he was chosen for the Prime Minister's XI, an achievement that saw him play under Captain Allan Border, alongside test greats Steve Waugh, Merv Hughes and Greg Matthews.

He studied commerce and worked as a partner at Pricewaterhouse and also Deloitte. Keith was the first non-Englishman to undertake the role of Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in London. He spent seven years at Lord's in that very important international role. In November 2011, he returned to Australia as the SACA chief executive. Keith will always be remembered for the development of the pink ball and the day-night test cricket.

He is survived by his much-loved fiancée, Helen, and children Juliet, Eliza, Donald, Jack and son-in-law Patrick. Vale, Keith Bradshaw.

Mr MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Leader of the Opposition) (14:21): I rise in support of the Premier's statement on indulgence. Keith Bradshaw may have been born in Tasmania, but he was a truly great South Australian and he leaves a great legacy of love and achievement.

Whilst a fine state cricketer in his own right and having enjoyed a successful subsequent career as a partner at PwC and then Deloitte, it was in sports administration that he became a legend, initially, as the first ever non-English secretary of the MCC—of course, I am not talking about the Melbourne Cricket Club but, rather, the Marylebone Cricket Club—which was quite an achievement. He oversaw the Lord's cricket ground.

Then, as chief executive of Adelaide Oval, he returned to Australia in 2011. That Keith Bradshaw would give up a residence that boasted its own private gates to Lord's to come to Adelaide is a tremendous compliment to our city and our magnificent Oval. As SACA chief executive, it was Keith who oversaw the redevelopment of our city's landmark oval for cricket. I am certain that his conviction that Adelaide Oval is one of the world's truly great and beautiful sporting grounds is one shared by us all.

His talent for innovation, whether it was the introduction of day-night Test cricket or making Adelaide's New Year's Eve Big Bash a staple on the Australian sporting calendar or his commitment to and support of the South Australian Scorpions, all demonstrate that he could respect the rich history, of which he was part, without remaining completely beholden to it. Public successes aside, behind the scenes he was also a leader who led by example and was admired and respected across the world by royalty, celebrities, colleagues, players and ordinary fans alike, evidenced by the global outpouring of sorrow at his passing.

No matter his health, even when he could no longer visit his beloved ground, he never wavered in his passion for cricket and for the people who play it. He was taken too soon by the cancer that he battled with dignity and courage for over a decade. We give our heartfelt condolences to his fiancée, Helen, and children Juliet, Eliza, Donald and Jack, who have great reason to be proud of their father's achievements. Vale, Keith.

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL (Mawson) (14:24): On indulgence, I would like to also put to the house my reflections on a great fellow who did so much for sport in South Australia. In my five years as sports minister, I cannot remember a better administrator in terms of working with Keith Bradshaw. He was tremendous in his advocacy for cricket. We did not always see eye to eye and sometimes he would try to get some money out of us that I was not prepared to give up, but we could have those honest conversations.

For other things that Keith put up, I said, 'We can back you in all of the way.' It might not have come to fruition for six or eight months but, when it did, Keith would pick up the phone and say, 'That thing that we talked about—that's actually happening now. Have you guys got the money?' We would do our deals on our word. That does not happen quite as much as it should these days in politics and in the business community, but Keith was one of those people who you could genuinely trust.

Keith's pursuit and passion for modernising the game, particularly day-night Test cricket with the pink ball, has been well documented. That was something that Keith pursued year after year, and brought the rest of the international cricket community along. It was not everyone's favourite idea when it was first put, but Keith worked as he so often did—with a lot of determination behind the scenes to get people on board.

When Cricket Australia tried to dud South Australian taxpayers out of an extra $1.2 million a year to get us to put that money to Cricket Australia after we had spent $535 million upgrading the Adelaide Oval, giving Cricket Australia an extra 20,000 seats to sell, Keith was on our side. He was working with us behind the scenes to make sure that we were not going to get this taxpayer money taken away from South Australia by Cricket Australia, not when we had put such commitment into the game and wanted to look after cricket at the grassroots level right through to the international stage.

I will always be grateful for the insight that Keith gave me. He was a little bit conflicted because he had his boss on one side and Cricket Australia saying one thing, but he was a decent fellow who knew that, as a government, we had put $535 million into Adelaide Oval, and that was more than enough. We did not need to be paying $1.2 million a year to guarantee that we would have a Test match played here as we had had for decade after decade.

Keith, thank you very much for your friendship. Karen and I really value your friendship and that of Helen. You were a great dad as well. So often we would see you with your sons and daughters at the cricket and out and about. You will always be remembered as a great sporting administrator but also as a great dad. Vale.

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD (Gibson—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (14:27): On indulgence, I would like to make a couple of comments as well, having worked very closely with Keith over a number of years now as the sports minister too. Whilst we have recognised his playing ability, playing 25 games for Tasmania as well, he played in a Prime Minister's XI match as well, which he very fondly remembered. It is a great feather in his cap. As has been pointed out, it was his role as an administrator that really brought cricket to the forefront.

We can now talk about the pink ball and the day-night Test. It is something that is in our vernacular, but it is something that generations will be talking about, and this is the man who pioneered it. It has been mentioned that he was in charge of the Marylebone Cricket Club in England—one of the most famous hallowed turfs—and to be the first Australian in charge there is again a great feather in his cap.

He was right behind the Strikers, making them one of the biggest drawing teams in the Big Bash League. We know the great success that T20 cricket has brought South Australia. Keith was a big part of that, so I do concur with what has been said already about his career as a cricketer and also as an administrator.

I want to finish with one final point—that is, understanding and knowing his love for his family. I know he was a very strong family man. I was lucky enough to get to know him, as an aside, when I coached his son, Don, when he played in an under-15 competition for Glenelg. It was a true pleasure. I know how much he loved his son and I know how much he loved his family. I am sure that is something that those dear to him knew, especially all those at the SACA who worked with him: his passion and his care for people. His family in particular were very close to his heart, and our heart does go out to them as well. Vale, Keith Bradshaw.

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